What if I told you we could see the NBA's longest playoff drought end this year? It's been 12 years since the Minnesota Timberwolves made the playoffs but after years of poor drafting and management, they've finally managed to stack their team with young talent and athleticism. Remember the 2009-2010 Oklahoma City Thunder team? Behind Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Serge Ibaka, the Thunder bounced back from a 23-59 season to win 50 games and became the youngest team to make the NBA playoffs. The Timberwolves could be in for a very similar turnaround.
Over the past several years, the Timberwolves have built up possibly the best core of young talent the league has seen since those early 2010s Thunder teams. In Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns, the Wolves have the number one overall picks from the 2014 and 2015 NBA drafts. Both won their respective Rookie of the Year awards and appear to be on the cusp of superstardom. Two players as talented as Wiggins and Towns alone could be enough to carry some teams to the playoffs but the promise doesn't stop there for Minnesota. The Wolves also boast 2-time dunk contest champ Zach Lavine and picked up another blue-chip talent in this year's draft with point guard Kris Dunn, the number 5 overall pick.
It takes more than just elite talent to be successful in the NBA. For as much promise as the Timberwolves showed last year, the team had many deficiencies on the defensive side of the ball that must be shored it if the team is looking to make a playoff push. Enter new head coach Tom Thibodeau, who proved to be one of, if not the, best defensive minds in the NBA in his time with Boston, Chicago and Team USA. Overall, Thibodeau was one of the most successful head coaches in the league with Chicago as he led them to the playoffs and consistently had the Bulls in the conversation as a top-3 team in the east. Now, he'll look to mold Minnesota's young talent into new Western Conference juggernaut, one that could eventually compete with the Golden States and San Antonios of the conference.
Choose to ignore them at your own risk, but the Timberwolves are ready to take the next step and behind Thibodeau, it won't be long until they get there.
